


The Last Time

by furyofthetimelords



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-19
Updated: 2013-08-19
Packaged: 2017-12-24 00:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/932839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/furyofthetimelords/pseuds/furyofthetimelords
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's used to being alone here, having just the sand and water and sky as her company. But today there's another man on the beach.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Last Time

There was nothing quite like travelling in the TARDIS, nothing that could compare with knowing you could go anywhere or anytime that you wanted. To Rose Tyler, those years she spent with him were the best of her life, the ones she'd often remember with a smile.

She'd seen darkness and greatness and the most magical things in the universe, the other one, to be precise. She knew little of what was out in the skies of her new world, the one she now lived in.

Part of her wished to travel it again, to see every star and galaxy, to see everything again.

Working at Torchwood was good, but it was nothing compared to being with the doctor (her other doctor, that is). She didn't get to see the stars, but there was still so much of life back on earth she liked.

She was safe here, loved too. She had her new doctor, not the original, but someone else who was almost him. The differences weren't bad, though, they made things better. She had her doctor, someone she could love and who loved her. He may not have had another heart or a time machine, but he was what she needed.

But that didn't mean she'd forgotten the other doctor, the first one. Rose still thought about him, wondering if he was still travelling with Donna Noble or had found another to show the universe to.

That's why she was at Bad Wold Bay now, looking out into the sea and remembering. She did these trips alone, needing the time just for solitude. To be alone and remember the days that have past.

She's used to being alone here, having just the sand and water and sky as her company. But today there's another man on the beach.

He doesn't look like he's dressed for the beach, in his tweed jacket and boots. He looks too out of place.

The funny thing about him is that he sits in the sand, his head hanging low. He sits too far off for her to get a good look at him, but she walks over anyway.

"You alright mate?" she asks him.

The man's head jerks up and he looks almost shocked to see her, but his face composes quickly enough.

"Oh I'm fine," he replies, but there's something about him that makes the words look like a lie. He looks young, but his eyes don't.

"You don't really look it," she says. "You from around here?" she asks.

"No, not really," he replies. "I'm just a traveller, of sorts."

"I used to travel," she says. "Further than this, much further."

The man smiles at her, a small smile, but it's nice to see on his face.

"Why don't you go again?" he asks her, but something about him makes her think he knows the answer.

"It's complicated," Rose doesn't know how to explain it to this man, someone who'd never know the wonders of the Doctor.

"Isn't it always?"

"Not like this," Rose says and watches the man as he looks at the inside of his wrist. She wonders why he's doing it, but she realises there's a watch there.

"It's all funny here," he mutters.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," he says. "That was nothing."

"You're a funny one. Anyone ever tell you that?"

"They never really stop," he replies.

Suddenly, she realises she doesn't know his name. "Who are you then?"

"You can call me John Smith," he says, but there's something careful about the way he says it, Rose can't quite pick what.

"I used to have a friend called John Smith, well only sometimes," she says, remembering the doctor's fondness for such a plain name.

"We're really common, us John Smiths," he replies, switching into a cheerful mood. But there's still something sad about him.

They sit in silence for a moment and Rose looks out at the sea, acutely aware that the man—John—is watching her.

"You come here often?" he asks.

"Once a year," she replies.

"Why? There's not much here."

"This was the last place I saw my…friend," she stumbles over the word, unsure of what to call the doctor. Friend didn't seem to suffice. There was just too much between them.

She looks over at John who seems to have tears in his eyes.

"I'm sure they'd appreciate that," he said softly. Rose looks over at him and gets the strangest feeling she should know John Smith better, that she'd known him before. There was something almost familiar about him.

Suddenly John stood up and glanced at something on the inside of his wrist. "So sorry, but I guess this is goodbye," he said.

"Wait, you said you were a traveller, so where are you from?" she asks.

"A whole universe away," he said with a sad smile. "Goodbye, Rose Tyler."

Suddenly, something about him clicked into place. "Doctor…" she whispered, barely able to believe it.

He didn't say anything, just gave her a small nod and disappeared from her world again, exactly like he'd done before, fading until there was nothing in his place.

The tears were already dripping down her cheeks before she realised she was crying.

**Author's Note:**

> It took me a long time to get this work written how I wanted, but I hope it flows well.


End file.
